Best Coast

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Not since The Psychedelic Furs’ self-titled debut has a record been as single-minded in sound and subject matter as Best Coast’s first LP, Crazy For You. The Los Angeles indie-rock band fuses the minor-key moodiness of early-’80s post-punk with the boy-crazy coo of ’60s girl-groups, in service of songs that shuffle the same few words around, mainly “love,” “weed,” “I,” “miss,” and “you.” Over the course of Crazy For You’s 30 minutes, singer-songwriter-guitarist Bethany Cosentino pledges over and over that she’s going to get her shit together and be the kind of woman her crush object needs, because she’s only ever been happy when she’s with him (or when she’s high). Though Best Coast’s music is fairly sunny—like beach music for kids who reek of patchouli—Crazy For You contains a core of sadness mixed with sickness that’s difficult to embrace. Songs like “Boyfriend,” “Crazy For You,” “The End,” and “When The Sun Don’t Shine” are short and catchy, with a buzzing, echoing sound that’s easy to enjoy. But the redundant lyrics and their “Love me! I’m pathetic!” message gets wearying. Are Cosentino and her musical partner Bobb Bruno commenting on the give-me-true-love-or-give-me-oblivion vibe of classic girl-groups like The Shangri-Las? Possibly. And if so, that’s pretty cool. Now what else have they got?